Quote:
|
Originally Posted by nightshade are there any anglers around this website?,where are all the tales of fish and fishing the strange encounters early in the morning/late at night,being stalked by herons or feral cats,bumping into bulls disturbing flocks of roosting birds or swarms of insects |
This true story was actually published (way back) in one of the Angling Monthlies and I won about £250 of angling gear. I don't do any angling now as I stopped not long after I started birdwatching but I was a decent angler and used to be on the open circuit (as well as running my own angling club) before i became a specialist Barbel Angler.
A FISHERMANS TALE
A TRUE STORY
The year, 1994. The month was May. At that time there was a close season in the Midlands and you couldn’t fish anywhere unless you went to the Southwest of the country. There you could fish pools and lakes. Normally I am not a still water angler as I much prefer to fish the upper reaches of a river for Barbel and Grayling. The River Teme, in Worcs, being my favourite. However me and the misses decided on a 7 day break at a small fishing complex at Bovey Tracey, which is not far past Exeter.
As soon as we arrived we marvelled at the beauty of the place. It was secluded and tranquil with willow trees drooping to the waters edge and lily pads in the water. The accommodation was out of this world. The owner told us that he had carp up to 29Ibs, tench up to 7lb 8 oz, roach up to 4Ibs, perch to a similar size plus a few bream up to 10Ibs. The biggest fish I had ever caught at that time was only a 9Ib 8 ounce barbel. I suppose that if I had fished on various lakes in the past then a double figure fish would have been caught by now, but as most anglers will tell you a double figure fish is hard to come by in a river.
I was hopeful of catching my biggest fish quite soon but as each day ended I became more and more frustrated as I hooked, and lost, fish after fish. I caught some big fish but not of the size I was after.
On the Thursday, in the afternoon, I had decided to try a different spot and no sooner had I put my bait in the water than it was snatched, big time. The rod was nearly torn out of my hands but I held on. The fish made for the pads and I exerted all my strength to turn it away from them, only succeeding at the last minute. The fish kited to the right and I held on holding my breath, as it was making for some tree roots that were in the water. Again I succeeded in turning it. Now it was in the middle of the lake, away from all obstructions, and I thought that I had it beat as it started to come in slowly towards me. Suddenly it took off to the right and it’s speed caught me by surprise and before I could compensate for it’s speed the line went tight and snapped. I was gutted. I added a few tench, up to 5Ibs, a few roach, of a couple of pounds, plus a few carp up to 8Ibs for the rest of the week.
Saturday was our last day and we had to be off the property by 10.00am so I baited a few areas, the night before, and got up for a dawn start. By 7.00am I had virtually nothing. By 9.00am I had added a few fish but nothing of great size. I decided to walk around the pool, for one last time, and at 9.30am I heard a splash behind a bush that overhung the water. Creeping up to the bush I peered through the leaves. A large fin broke the surface of the water and a large pair of lips sucked in food that was floating near to the bush. This was my final throw of the dice.
I baited my hook up with some bread and cast past the carp, slowly easing it towards the feeding fish. It was obviously a large carp and one I estimated to be about 20Ibs. My heart was racing as the big fish cruised towards the bait but he past it by as if it wasn’t there. I pulled in the bait and this time I put on a piece of crust and again cast it just past the fish.
Without warning the fish turned and snatched at the bait and the fight was on. Never before had I experienced a fight like it. The fish kited first to the left, then the right, then it would head for the pads. Each time I had to keep my wits about me for fear of losing it.
The fight lasted for just over forty five minutes and by then the owner had come around to see what was going on. He held my landing net for me as I slowly drew the fish over it. At last I had my double figure fish, and what a magnificent specimen it was. It was a mirror carp weighing 19Ib 8 oz and beat my previous best by a clear 10Ibs.
What a way to end your holiday. A real 11th hour job.
Linear Mode
